This is a zine dedicated to death/thrash, technical and traditional death metal for more info contact hatredmeanswar@yahoo.com looking for new authors do to lack of time to cover everything email me at the email listed above if you want to do reviews and interviews for the blog.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Sacrificial Blood are a band from New Jersey that plays an old school mixture of death and thrash metal and this is a review of their 2011 album "Unholy Fucking Hatred" which was re-issued on cassette by Iron, Blood And Death Corporation in the year of 2013.

An 80's style thrash sound starts off the album before the music starts to speed up a bit along with a mixture of growls and screams and after awhile solos and leads find their way into the bands musical sound and they also add in melody and more raw aggression as the album progresses.

All of the music sounds like it could off been release d in between 1984 and 87 and the bands musical style goes back to the beginnings of the death metal genre where the music was still mixed in with thrash quite a bit and you can also hear some primitive and punishing sounding bass guitars being utilized in the background at times and they also bring in a mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts at times while the main focus remains on the faster material.

As the album progresses you can hear some elements of classic metal being mixed in with their raw death/thrash sound and they also bring a cover of Rainbow's "Kill The King" towards the end of the album and this cassette has 3 bonus tracks that where not present on the original version of this recording with the first 4 being their own songs and the last 2 being The Godz and Riot's cover.

Sacrifical Blood plays a very old school mixture of death and thrash metal that goes back to the darkest, and rawest beginning s of this musical genre as well as adding in elements of traditional metal as the album progresses. the production sounds very old school yet professional all at the same time while the lyrics cover Death, Satan, Evil, Hated and Metal Themes.

In my opinion Sacrificial Blood are a very great sounding raw and old school mixture of death and thrash metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Sacrificial Blood" "Unholy Wrath" "Evil Force" and "Warrior" which is a Riot cover. 8 out of 10.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Bane Of Bedlam are a band from Australia that plays a progressive mixture of death and thrash metal and this is a review of their self released 2013 album "Monument Of Horror".

Acoustic guitars and clean playing starts off the album and after a minute thrash metal style guitar riffing makes its presence known in the music along with some blast beats, melodic leads, and a mixture of screams and growls and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them.

You can hear a great amount of melody being utilized in the bands musical style and the band also uses a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts as well as adding in elements of groove metal into their musical sound and some of the tracks are very long and epic in length and the acoustic guitars of the first track also make a return in certain sections of the recording and they also enhance the progressive nature of the bands musical style.

Bane Of bedlam go back to the old school styles of death and thrash metal and add a more progressive tinge to them as well as a great amount of groove metal elements which takes these genres into a more modern direction, the productions sounds very professional for being a self released recording while the lyrics cover violent, dark and horror themes.

In my opinion Bane Of Bedlam are a very great sounding mixture of death and thrash metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Woken By The Horde" "Monument Of Horror" and "Vultures Of War". 8 out of 10.

Entrails are a band from Sweden that has been featured before in this zine and plays an old school style of early 90's Swedish death metal and this is a review of their 2014 demo compilation "Resurrected From The Grave" which will be released in July by Metal Blade Records.

An intro with thunder and church bell noises start off the album and a few seconds later horror movie soundtrack style synths are added in and a couple of minutes you can hear some demonic sounding vocals which leads up to a 90's style Swedish death metal sound which utilizes both screams and growls.

You can hear a decent amount of slow, mid paced and fast parts throughout along with a great amount of riffing that utilizes melody and the guitar solos are very raw and melodic old school death metal guitar solos and leads and there are also times the music gets very brutal and adds in some blast beats and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound on the demo recordings and as the album progresses there are a few epic tracks with one of them being heavily influenced by doom metal along with a small amount of clean playing being utilized at times and one of the later tracks has a brief use of melodic clean singing female vocals.

The second demo on the compilation starts off with some depressing sounding synths along with a small amount of spoken word parts before going into a heavier direction and the musical direction of the second demo goes for the same musical direction as the first one but also has a more raw and dirty approach to old school death metal and the growls and screams also have a more dark presence to them this time around and the synths also make a brief return on one of the later tracks.

On both of the demo's that are on the compilation Entrails stick to the early 90's style of Swedish death metal that they expanded on up on later recordings, the production sounds very dark, raw and heavy while the lyrics cover suffering, doom, the undead, and occult themes.

In my opinion this is a very great sounding double album from Entrails and if you are a fan of this band, you should check out this compilation. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Evil Obsession" "Depression" "Evil Terror" and "Casket Garden". 8 out of 10.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Ecocide: The main thing we are focusing on right now is finishing all songs for our new album, which we hope to release somewhere at the end of this year.

2. In 2013 you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical direction you have taken with this recording and also how does it differ from the demo you had released in 2012?

Ecocide: The demo from 2012 is way more Thrash Metal. With our album we took a big step towards Death Metal. You can still hear some Thrash influences though since some of those songs where written just after our demo.

3. The lyrics cover a great amount of science fiction and Lovecraft themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in those topics?

Ecocide: Our guitarist/vocalist writes the lyrics so he is the one who is most interested in those topics. But all three of us are big sci-fi fans so when we were thinking up lyrical themes, we came to that topic very quick.

4. The band originally start out as Toxic Napalm, what was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Ecocide'?

Ecocide: Toxic Napalm was actually a “non-serious” band of Sten (guitar/vocals) and myself (drums) that started out because of a school talent show (we covered a few Thrash songs). After that show we were asked to play on HIT, a band-contest in Haarlem between school bands. We came 2nd and a bit later we decided we could seriously start a band, that’s when we started searching for members and Ecocide was born.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Ecocide: That’s a difficult question since all shows have their own awesome moments but if I had to choose one I would say Essen Death Fest in Germany. We had an amazing time over there and the crowd went nuts during our show. The whole venue was packed with people so that was also really cool – to play for that many people.
When we play live we truly give it all we got, constant headbanging and a lot of energy on stage. I think this is what sets us apart from most bands these days that just stand still and play.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Ecocide: We are not touring yet but a big show is coming up on September 20th. We will play in a big (free) festival called Baroeg Open Air with Bolt Thrower!

7. Recently Disharmonic Records, re-issued your 2013 album , what are your thoughts on the final product?

Ecocide: We are very happy how it turned out, the new cover looks great and Disharmonic Records was very communicative in the process which made things go very smooth.

8. According to the Metal Archives page the band is signed to Dan's Crypt Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Ecocide: Dan’s Crypt Records is a label from Spain that releases some great old school Death Metal albums from smaller bands like us but also bigger bands that were very well known in the ‘80s/’90s Death Metal scene.

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death and thrash metal?

Ecocide: Very positive! We have received so many reviews, almost one every week in the beginning. All of them are very positive and encourage us to bring out an even better album. Also we sell a lot of merch worldwide, from Germany to Japan to Australia, all over the world!

10. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Ecocide: We try to keep our Thrash influences but I have a feeling this next album will be a bit more Death Metal focused than the first album, also I can tell you the drum parts will be a lot faster and aggressive! We have all grown as musicians and I hope this will shine through on the next release.

11. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Ecocide: We are heavily influenced by the Florida Death Metal bands like Death, Massacre, Morbid Angel, etc. I myself listen to all kinds of music nowadays, not just metal, to get inspiration.

12. What are some of your non musical interests?

Ecocide: The bassist and I draw a lot so from time to time we make some artwork for Ecocide or another band. We also like to watch bad horror movies or play games.

13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Ecocide: Thank you for this interview! We would like to thank everyone who supports us by buying our merch or coming to our shows.

Friday, June 20, 2014

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Shards Of Humanity is a metal band out of Memphis, TN. Formed by myself, Todd Cochran (vocals/lead guitar) and Ryan McAlister (drums) in roughly 2009. We began playing shows as a two-piece in 2011, but as of 2013 we have joined new member Larry Mercado as a rhythm/lead guitarist and creative aid. Our current discography includes a s/t EP (2012) and our soon to be debut album "Fractured Frequencies" on Unspeakable Axe Records.

2.You have your first full length coming out in September, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction of the new album and also how does it differ from the ep you had released in 2012?
The material on this album has a lot of influence from, but hardly limited to, bands like Death, Carcass, and Atheist... some have even pointed out similarities with Massacra and Sadus. Its thrashy, death metalish at times, technical, and has melodic tendencies. We spent more time and effort on recording the new album in comparison to our EP, which was recorded quickly in 3 days for minimal cash. This album has better, heavier production and displays a tighter performance. Two songs from the EP have been re-recorded for the album.
3.The music is heavily rooted in the early death metal style, what was the decision behind going more into this direction as opposed to a more modern day variation of this genre?

There was no formal decision made by me personally concerning our sound. My riffs/lyrics/approach came about without thoughts of "what genre is this" or "what will people think" or "what band am i trying to sound like". The analysis and categorizing comes about afterwards when the idea is completed. Concerning modern metal bands, i simply do not connect with the attitudes and approaches of most, and therefore do not listen.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
My lyrics usually come about in a stream of consciousness type of style and touch on themes which i think you described well in your review as "dark, scientific, philosophical, and metaphysical". I might also add the adjective "political" in a song or two.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Shards Of Humanity'?
The name came up in the lyrics of the song "Shards Of Humanity", written by an ex vocalist Kanon Autry around 2008 or 09. The song is loosely based on an apocalyptic dream.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe oyur stage performance?
Some of our best shows have been in Memphis at a bar called Murphy's, the same place where you can find videos of the late Shawn Lane shredding in back in the day. Our second performance was a trip down to NOLA with memphis friends Process Of Suffocation. Great time down there, cool scene. Our stage performance is high energy and we like being as loud as possible. We use real tube amps and do not use triggered drums. We like crowd movement and involvement as well.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
We have a couple shows back to back coming up next month:
July 11: Nashville, TN. Dinos. w/ Thetan, Process Of Suffocation, and Bleed The Pigs
July 12: Johnson City, TN. Mountains Of Madness Fest @ The Hideaway. w/ Mangled, Coffin Dust, Manic Scum, Ectovoid, Putrisect, etc....
Event page for Fest : https://www.facebook.com/events/214427138767021/

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death and thrash metal?
I suspect people worldwide are still mostly in the dark about us... Although, once our debut drops with Unspeakable Axe, i assume more people will be in the loop internationally. Seems that all feedback thus far has been greatly positive, which is appreciated to say the least.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
All aspects of our sound have been evolving for a while now and i don't see it stopping. Ive already got close to another album worth of riffs in the closet waiting to be demo'd and im very excited about some of what are the skeletons of new songs. Having Larry contribute to the guitar writing has introduced a whole new dynamic and excitement. Expect another album in the not so distant future. We'll leave it at that.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
There are so many bands that influence our creative output that id feel strange making a connection to just a handful... Although, some of my favorite metal bands include Death, Carcass, Brutal,Truth, Napalm Death, and Atheist, my musical appreciation is hardly limited to extreme metal. One of my passions is playing blues/rock guitar and even exploring jazz fusion styles. Some of my riffing on this album even contains chords commonly used in jazz settings, although not used in a jazzy context whatsoever. As of late ive been listening to some of my Dad's old cassette tapes and vinyl including ZZ Top "Rio Grande Mud" and Van Halen II. Ive got Macabre's "Sinister Slaughter" loaded in my work truck currently. I listen to a bunch of different shit.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Seems as though most of my interests are music related somehow. I like collecting rocks although i lost most of my collection. I also like watching cool/funny shit on youtube but usually that is musically related too. I know Ryan has heavy interest in things like infrastructure and buildings and such. He's very knowledgeable on a broad range of subjects.
Larry is exceptionally good at video games.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Keep your eyes on us and Unspeakable Axe because we've got new material and fire under our asses.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Morbidity are a band from Bangladesh that plays an old school mixture of death and thrash metal and this is a review of their 2014 album "Revealed From Ashes" which will be released in July by Memento Mori.

Sounds of wind start off the album along with some clean playing which also appears on the title track as well another track following that and powerful sounding bass before going into a more heavy and dark direction along with some melody and after the intro the music goes into a more fast and raw old school death metal direction along with some blast beats and deep growls.

You can hear a great amount of thrash elements being thrown into the bands musical sound and they also bring in a mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and the guitar solos they use are very dark and melodic sounding and the music sticks to a mid 80's to early 90's era style of death metal and the band seems to be heavily influenced by both the Brazilian and Florida scenes of that time while the growls bring a more evil sounding atmosphere to the music and spoken word samples are also added into certain sections of the recording along with a small amount of demonic screams.

Morbidity goes back to the more raw and dark side of mid 80's death and thrash metal with their music and shows the evil origins of death metal in all of the songs they bring onto the album, the production sounds very heavy and old school while the lyrics cover death, darkness and occult themes.

In my opinion Morbidity are a very great sounding old school mixture of death and thrash metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Incarnation Of Death" "Pits Of Eternal Torment" and "Unholy Resurrection". 8/5 out of 10.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Omnihility are a band from Eugene, Oregon that plays a very brutal and technical form of death metal and this is a review of their 2014 album "Deathscapes Of the Subconscious" which will be released by Unique Leader.

A very fast and brutal sound starts off the album along with some blast beats and a mixture of growls before the band starts bringing in a mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts as well as adding in melody and technical elements into their musical sound and all of the musical instruments on the album demonstrate a great amount of talent and skill and are also easy to hear throughout the recording.

When guitar solos and leads are added into the music they demonstrate a good amount of melody and technical parts which bring a perfect balance to the bands brutal death metal sound and a good portion of the tracks are very long in length which also adds in more epic elements into the songs.

As the album progresses a couple of acoustic instrumentals are added onto the album while the main focus remains on a very heavy, brutal and technical death metal sound and there is also a brief use of clean playing being utilized in on of the heavier songs as well as some spoken word samples being added onto on e of the later tracks and the album closes with an instrumental.

Omnihility bring a lot of skill and talent into their technical and brutal style of death metal which also has a perfect balance between melody and brutality, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover violence, anti religious, hatred and metaphysical themes.

In my opinion Omnihility are a very great sounding technical and brutal death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this recording. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Lost Sands Of Antiquity" "Deathscapes Of The Subconscious" and "The Unamable". 8 out of 10.

Grace Disgraced are a band from Russia that plays a very technical, old school and brutal form of death metal and this is a review of their 2014 album "The primal Cause: Womanumental" which was released by More Hate Productions.

A very heavy, old school and technical sound starts off the album with all of the musical instruments sounding very powerful and there is also a decent amount of melody in the bands musical sound and a few seconds later death metal growls are added onto the album which also leads to blast beats becoming a huge part of the songs on the recording.

There is also a decent album of thrash influences in the songs and the lead guitars are in the early 90's vein of Death and most of the tracks are very long and epic in length and a good amount of brutal elements are also mixed into the bands technical and old school sound in certain sections of the recording.

As the album progresses the band brings in a brief use of sound effects on a couple of tracks along with a small amount of tribal style drumming which gives the music a shamanistic feeling before returning back to a heavier direction as well as adding in some back up growls and a brief use of spoken word robotic vocals on a couple of songs and most of the later songs stick to a more mid paced direction while it still also has its fast and brutal moments and at times the guitar leads have a progressive metal feeling to them and the album closes with some soft and clean guitar playing.

Grace Disgraced play a very technical and old school style of death metal which seems to be heavily influenced by the 90's material while also taking their musical style into a more brutal direction, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover dark and philosophical themes.

In my opinion Grace Disgraced are a very great sounding old school technical death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should c heck out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Secondary" "She Smells Death" and "Dragons Of Emptiness". 8 out of 10.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

(Ola, Bass) Our last album, “Burn in Beautiful Fire”, came out in 2011. We have played shows and festivals, and went on some great tours supporting bigger metal-acts like In Flames, Trivium and Demon Hunter. That album actually got nominated for the Norwegian Grammy, but didn't win. Unfortunately.
When the interest started to fade out, we began the process of making new material for our next album , “De:Evolution”, which just came out.
We finished the recording of this record last August, but it took almost a year until it came out. Because of some unfortunate record company -issues, the release took half a year longer than we planned. In the waiting time we did some gigs, made a couple of music videos and released a few singles, and went on a small tour supporting the great “the Devin Townsend Project”.

2.Recently you have released a new album how would you describe the musical sound of the new recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

“De:Evolution” is a continuing of what we did on our last two albums. The song structure is more or less the same, but we have tried to incorporate more melodies, heaviness and darkness into the songs. We are more to the point on this one. Have trimmed down the dead meat and filling parts.
We try to mix hard, brutal and dark elements with more soft, melodic and mellow parts. In the past, on our earlier records, it was all about aggression and brutality, but we have softened up a bit on our older days, hehe. Don't get me wrong, we are still a hard metal-band, but we are not afraid of dealing with other musical directions than just the extreme.

3.The band has been around for 15 years, what is it that motivates you to keep the band going after all of these years?

We like doing what we do. Just as simple as that. We are close friends and we have a lot of fun together, both in rehearsals and on tour. And of course, our music keep getting better for every album that we make. We see an advance in our songwriting, and slowly more and more people are getting into our music.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new album?

The thin, red line in our new album “De:Evolution”, is a reflection around human minds and progression in life. The lyrics touches topics related to the modern man and its stagnation of development. Seems like people of today are more interested in personal welfare, success and fame, than the strive of individual perfection and growth. We may have reached a point where we no longer develop, the evolution seems to have reversed and we are getting stupider and stupider as species. Such a misanthropic topic….

5.What is the meaning an inspiration behind the name 'Insense'?

There is no deep meaning behind the name ‘Insense'. It´s just a cool name (we think, at least). A friend of us came up whit that name a long, long time ago. And we liked it and thought it sounded kickass.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Playing shows at ice-hockey stadiums and in huge arenas on the In Flames/Trivium/Ghost/Rise to Remain/Insense-tour in 2011, was certainly something special.
Our stage performance is quite intense. Lots of sweat, headbanging, lights, a massive sound and excessive aggression are some keywords that describe our shows. We try to make a powerful appearance, and we want the audience feel like they have been eaten and digested by a dinosaur at the ending of our gigs.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Yeah, we have hopes and plans for tours and shows for the future. An issue for us right now is that we are in need of a decent booking-agency to book shows for us outside Norway. At this point, we have just a couple of shows booked, so we are working on the show-bit at the moment. Hope to get a tour booked for this autumn.
For a band like us, the perfect tour would be as a support act for a bigger band. Let´s face it, no one shows up for a small, Norwegian, unknown band on tour. We are dependent on a more famous band to tour with so we can expose our band to a bigger crowd, and hopefully reach out to some potential new fans.

8.Your manager is also the front man for In Flames, do you feel having a well known metal musician managing your band has done a lot of help when it comes to getting your music out there heard?

It sure draws some attention having a well known rock-star connected to your band. It´s kind of a quality stamp. Anders is a good man to have on board, having him on the team has opened some closed doors for us.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer material by fans of extreme metal?

So far, we’ve got quite positive response from the metal-press. The feedback has been overwhelmingly good. Of course, some hate us as well and give us harsh criticism. But we are not used to lots of attention to our band, so we are happy for every review and every exposure that we can get. Good or bad.There will always be those angry metal guys hiding behind their computer keyboards, complaining how bad and shitty they think we are and how awful and inappropriate they find our music, but that is ok for us. Can't please them all, unfortunately. We focus on all the nice words we get, and are pleased to see that lots of people seem to like our new stuff.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

I think we have sort of found our expression now. It took some time to find it, but on our tree past albums we have carved out some kind of a music-style that we are very proud of. Norwegian Correct Metal, we call it:) NCM, we take the best parts from every genres that we like, and make the correct metal, metal how it´s supposed to sound, hehe.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We have quite different taste in music, the four of us in the band. We have all a similar back catalogue containing bands like Metallica, Pantera, Meshuggah, Obituary, Death etc, but we listen to all sorts of music besides that. Everything from grindcore to sweet ballads. No techno or trance though…

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Nothing very interesting, I'm afraid. We are quite a boring bunch of men. As we get older and our bodies seem to start working against us, we try to keep in some kind of shape. Some of us plays squash, others go for a run….zzzzz, and one of us is just letting his body expire. We are fans of good food and beer, zzzzzznore, and movies, serieszzzz and TV-games… yawn!…must…not..fall….to…sleep…from… this…über-boring……answer….Other than that, we are quite dull and total uninteresting as human beings… Unlike our band and our music, which is full of life and power. Next question please!

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Support bands that you like. Go to concerts, buy merch and music.
… And of course, check out our new record “De:Evolution”! It rocks hard!

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Rectified Spirit are a band from India that plays a mixture of power, thrash, modern and death metal with a musical style they call 'libero metal' and this is a review of their self released and self titled 2014 album.

Clean playing and spoken word parts start off the album and a few seconds alter the music goes for a more heavier and melodic direction along with some guitar leads and the music sounds very close to power metal which also leads up to some clean singing vocals and metalcore style screams that also border on death metal.

Blast beats are used on a regular basis throughout the recording and the solos that the band uses are very melodic and old school sounding and as the album progresses a good amount of thrash elements find their way into the bands musical style as well as a small amount of death metal growls and all of the musical instruments on the recording h ave a very powerful sound to them.

As the album progresses the music gets more technical in certain sections of the recording and the band also adds in a heavy amount of groove metal into their musical style and there is also one track that brings in a small amount of acoustic guitars before returning back to a heavier direction and the acoustic guitars do make their returns at times and the band also add s in a couple of tracks that are very close to the 10 minute mark.

Rectified Spirit play a very heavy and diverse form of metal take takes from power, thrash, groove, death metal and metalcore to create their own style of metal that is heavy, melodic and almost mainstream sounding all at the same time, the production sound s very professional for a self released recording while the lyrics cover dark and philosophical themes.

In my opinion Rectified Spirit are a decent sounding mixture of power, thrash, modern and death metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should c heck out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "To Hold A Saber" "The Magician's Birthday" "Vengeance" and "Mother". 7/5 out of 10.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Shards Of Humanity are a band from Memphis, Tennessee that plays a technical and old school mixture of death and thrash metal and this is a review of their 2014 album "Fractured Frequencies" which will be released by Unspeakable Axe Records.

A very melodic and technical sounding guitar lead starts off the album before the music heads into a more old school thrash metal sound along with some early death metal screams and growls as well as some blast beats and the band also brings in a good amount of melody as well as a mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts.

Guitar leads are used throughout the album and a good amount of the music sounds like it could of easily been released in 1989 and also has the feeling of early albums that where recorded at the Morrissound studios back in those days and the music goes back to the original style of technical death metal as well as being heavily influenced by the era where death metal was still evolving out of thrash and a good amount of the later mentioned genre is still a very big part of the bands musical style.

Shards of Humanity display a great amount of skill and talent with their musical style and also shows the more technical side of early death and thrash metal instead of going for the more raw old school style that most newer bands fall under as well as bringing back a forgotten style of death metal that is very rarely utilized these days, the production sounds very old school yet professional all at the same time and the lyrics cover dark, scientific, philosophical and metaphysical themes.

In my opinion Shards Of Humanity are a very great sounding old school and technical mixture of death and thrash metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Astral Agony" "Internal Rot" and "Suspension". 8 out of 10.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Inanimate Existence are a band from California that plays a very brutal and technical form of death metal and this is a review of their 2014 album "A Never Ending Cycle Of Atonement" which will be released by Unique Leader Records.

A very dark and distorted sound starts of the album along with some synths that bring a very ambient and symphonic sound to the recording as well as some tribal style instruments being used in the intro and after the intro the music starts going into a more heavy and brutal technical death metal and direction.

Vocals utilize both deep growls and growls and all of the musical instruments sound very powerful and the leads sound very progressive and melodic which also b rings a perfect balance between the brutality this music creates an d when clean sections are utilized you can hear elements of jazz music in their musical sound.

Some of the tracks go pass the 5 minute mark which also brings in a more epic death metal feeling at times and the band also uses a mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts to keep the music away from being boring or stagnant and at times acoustic guitars, folk instruments along with melodic female vocals are added into the album in certain sections which gives the music a more ritualistic and shamanistic edge while the main focus is still on a more technical and brutal variation of death metal.

As the album progresses classical music style musical instruments also start mixing in with the heavier sound of the music along with the synths from the intro making a return and adding a progressive rock feeling to the recording and the music also gets more diverse as the album progresses.

Inanimate Existence create a very original style of technical death metal which is still very brutal but also utilizes many different style of instruments which adds a more exotic and esoteric flavor tho the musical sound, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover metaphysical, shamanism and occultism themes.

In my opinion Inanimate Existence are a very great sounding brutal, technical death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this recording. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Omen" "The Rune of Destruction" and "Out Of Body Experience". 8 out of 10.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Ending Quest are a band from Sweden that plays a very brutal, raw and old school form of death metal and this is a review of their 2014 album "The Summoning" which will be released by FDA Rekotz.

A very dark and melodic sound starts off the album along with a mixture of leads and riffs and after awhile the music starts getting heavier along with some death metal growls and high pitched screams and after awhile the music starts going into a faster direction along with some blast beats and the band also starts to bring in a mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts.

You can hear a small amount of synths and spoken word parts in certain sections of the recording and the music sticks mostly to an early 90's style of Swedish death metal while also bringing back a more raw and brutal sound that is rarely utilized in the Swedish death metal revival bands.

As the album progresses the music starts evoking a more dark atmosphere as well as adding clean playing into certain sections of the recording as well as a brief use of bass leads being utilized on one of the tracks and the band also brings in a brief synth instrumental before closing the album with a heavier tack.

Enging Quest are another newer Swedish band that goes for the traditional death metal style of their home country but bring in a more raw, less melodic and brutal approach to t heir sound, the production sounds very old school yet professional all at the same time while the lyrics cover Occultism, Gore, and Horror themes.

In my opinion Ending Quest are a very great sounding old school death metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Sumerian Invocation" "A Host Of Flesh" "Evocation Of Carnal Flesh" and "The Lament Configuration". 8 out of 10.

Ecocide are a band from the Netherlands that plays a mixture of death and thrash metal and this is a review of their 2014 album "Eye of Wicked Sight" which was released by Disharmonic Records.

Sci fi sounding ambient synths start off the album and after the intro the music starts out in a slow death metal direction before going into a more mid paced direction and adding more thrash influences into the musical sound and then it starts to speed up and add in blast beats and growls and the music starts having a more old school death/thrash metal feeling.

After awhile the music starts utilizing a mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts as well as incorporating more melody into their musical sound and they also add in spoken word and science fiction movie samples on some of the tracks and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them and all of the tracks remain true to a mid 80's to early 90's era of death metal but with a good dose of thrash being mixed into the sound and I can hear a little bit of early Malevolent Creation and Massacre as well as a small amount of early Death in their musical sound while the band is not a copy of either band.

Ecocide go back to the mid 80's to e arly 90's era of Florida death metal with their musical sound and mixes it in with the raw energy of thrash metal to create a sound on this recording that is very old school yet very heavy all at the same time, th e production sounds very professional in and early 90's way while the lyrics cover Aliens, Science Fiction and Sumerian themes.

In my opinion Ecocide are a very great sounding old school mixture of death and thrash metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Alien Intervention" "Tale From Beyond" and "Beneath the Flesh". 8 out of 10.